Examination light



Sept. 27, 1966 R. K. MEYER EXAMINATION LIGHT Filed Aug. 8, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 34 RONALD K. MEYER ATTORNEYS Sept. 27, 1966 R. K. MEYER 3,275,814

EXAMINATION LIGHT Filed Aug. 8. 1963 v .7 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RONALD K. MEYER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,275,814 EXAMINATION LIGHT Ronald K. Meyer, 25 Janes St., Mill Valley, Calif. Filed Aug. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 300,875 8 Claims. (Cl. 2402.18)

connections are employed -for mounting a lens-holder in front of an examination light in a manner which permits air movement through the lamp housing. More especially, the lens holder is provided with slotted ears that may be engaged with the screw connections after they have .been secured in place by merely rotating the lens-holder relative to the lamp housing.

Various objects of this invention include the provision of a hand-held examination light which is easy to manu facture, assemble and repair; an examination light having a lamp housing that allows air circulation therethrough to cool an examination lamp; and a lighting devise having a lens-holder that may be easily removed for cleaning or for replacement of a burned-out lamp.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent in View of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like parts are identified by like reference numerals throughout the same,

7 FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of an examination light constructed in accordance with the teaching of this invention, said view illustrating a parts relationship of the light and the manner of its assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the end of the light immediately before its end cap is threaded to the handle portion of the split sleeve housing;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are front and rear views, respectively, of the light as fully assembled; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the light with its handle and portions of the lamp housing and lens-holder shown in longitudinal center section.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment of this invention in a hand-held examination light comprising a split sleeve handle and housing formed in two parts and 11. A lamp-holder 12 of standard design and including a bayonet socket 13 is adapted to be received within the handle portion of parts 10 and 1-1. The lamp-holder is positioned and fixed in proper orientation by surface engagements between the holder and the housing. For this purpose, a number of ridges such as indicated by reference numbers 14, 15 and .16 are formed within each part 10 and 11.

Lamp-holder 12 is provided with a leaf spring 17 that is mounted thereto by a nut and bolt connection 18 and a grommet 19 made of insulating material. Electrical leads (20 and 2 1 are employed to provide connection from a power source to the leaf spring 17 and to the base contact of socket 13, respectively. It will be evident that moving spring 17 against the holder contact .23 will complete a connection to the bayonet socket :13 and thus to the contacts of an examination lamp or bulb 24. The operation and construction of lamp-holder .12 is essen- .tially conventional and, therefore, forms no parts of the present invention, except as to the manner in which it is housed.

3,275,814 Patented Sept. 27, 1966 "ice Parts 10 and 11 are preferably made of plastic material and may be formed in a molding die. The lamp housing portion of said parts comprises the circular collars 25 and 26 which are integrally formed with handle portions 27 and 28, respectively. Upon assembly of the two parts, collars 25 and '26 are placed in coaxial relationship with the continuous offset rim 29 of collar 25 received within the rim of collar 26. The lower ends of handle portions 27 and 28 are formed with oomplemem' tary threads '30 and 31, respectively, which become a single continuous helical thread after parts 10 and 11 are assembled around lamp-holder '12.

Parts 10 and 11 are held in mated relationship by a cylindrical sleeve 32, said sleeve being slipped over the lower ends of said par-ts after a switch actuating button 33 is placed in an external recess of part 10. The assembly of parts is then secured by an end cap 34 that is threaded over complementary threads 30 and 31. Sleeve 32 may be slotted near its upper end, as indicated by reference number 35, to receive a boss 36 formed integrally with part 10, as shown in FIG. 4. This provides means for dogging'the sleeve to parts 10 and 11 and inhibiting its rotation. After sleeve 32 has been assembled over parts '10 and 11, a finger contact button 37 is projected through an opening in said sleeve and threaded into button 33, as shown in FIG. 5.

Collars 25 and 26 provide a lamp housing which protects the examination lamp 24 but also permits air movement into and through the housing from both ends. This is an especially desirable feature since examination bulbs are usually of high intensity and radiate much heat. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to provide a lamp enclosure that is well guarded to prevent contact with the lamp. Collar 2'5 is for this reason formed with a guard plate 40 having radial openings arranged about a center disc. Plate 40 may be formed as an integral portion of part 10 to avoid the separate step of assembling the plate to the lamp housing.

With particular reference to FIG. 1, collar 25 of part 10 is formed with projecting interior ridges 4'1, 42 and 43. Ridges 41 and 42 have threaded openings for receiving the ends of screws 44, but ridge 43 has a blind end and [merely forms a stop or point of contact for a tab 45 provided on a lens-holder 46.

A pair of ears 47 and 48 and an arcuate flange 49 are provided integrally and on the interior surface of collar 26. Each ear has an opening for receiving a screw 44 therethrough and is located in general alignment with the openings of ridges 41 and 42, respectively. Referring to FIG. 5 a small spacing is provided between each ear and its aligned ridge after collars 25 and 26 are placed in complementary relationship, and this spacing is approximately equal to the width of slotted ears 50 and 51 formed integrally with lens-holder 46. It will be further evident that the ears 50 and 51 and tab 45 are located such that each is simultaneously received between the confining surfaces of a ridge on collar 25 and either on ear or the flange 49 of collar 26, respectively. Such a mating relationship of parts is brought about by merely projecting lens-holder 45 in a direction coaxially toward collar 26 as suggested by FIG. 1, but at .a time that slotted ears 50 and 51 are misaligned relative to the ears 47 and 48 of collar 26. When the slotted ears are in a plane intermediate and equidistant from the ends of ridges 41, 42 and the near surfaces of ears 47, 48, the lens-holder is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3, until the slotted ears 50 and 51 come into lateral contact with screws 44. Tab 45 at this time will occupy a posit-ion between flange 49 and ridge 43.

The above described mounting construction provides means for easily removing lens-holder 46 to replace a urned-out lamp 24. Furthermore, it permits the use of l lens-holder having a smaller diameter than the inside liameter of collar 26, thereby providing an open air pasageway around the lens-holder and through said col- Lens-holder 46 comprises a collar portion 52- having I. protective grille disposed in -front of alens 53,said grille being defined by a circular sleeve 54 and radial .upporting vanes 55. Lens 53 may be mounted to the iolder by any conventional method as to form a pernanent part of a lens-holder assembly. The particu-' ar shape of the grille is important from the standpoint of )erm-itting the passage of a maximum amount of light but ireventing accidental contact with the lens, which is apt o be extremely hot from the beamed rays of the examinaion lamp.

Although a preferred embodiment of thisinvention has Jeen illustrated and described, various changes may be made withoutvdeparting from the spirit of the invention Jr the scope of the attached claims, and it is to be under- ;tood that each of such changes is contemplated.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

.1. Ina lighting device the improvement comprising: a. two-part longitudinally split sleeve, each of said parts raving an integrally formed circular lamp housing at one and, the other end of said split sleeve defining a'continuous ielical thread when the two parts thereof are placed in nated relationship; a sleeve member for receiving said ;plit sleeve therein; and a threaded cap matable with the :hreaded ends'of said split sleeve.

2. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein said split sleeve and sleeve member are formed with alignable openings, and further including means extending through said openings for actuating a light switch disposed within said split sleeve, said means comprising a first button confined in an opening between surfaces of said split sleeve and said sleeve member, and an outer finger button threadedly connected to said first button.

3. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein said lamp housing comprises a pair of circular collars, each collar being formed integrally with respective parts of said twopart split sleeve, said collars being matable in coaxial relationship.

4. The lighting device of claim 3 and further comprising a lens-holder of smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said collars, means for mounting said lens central-' ing formed with ears, each ear having an opening, said threaded openings and .ear openings being respectively aligned and the surfaces of said ridges and ears being in spaced relationship when the two parts of said twopart split sleeve are mated; screws for joining said circu lar collars by threaded attachment to said threaded .open-, ings and engagement with said ears; a lens-holderlof smaller diameter than the inside diameter of said collars, said lens-holder having slotted earsrespectively engage,-

able with said screws between, connected ridges and ears 7 by rotative movement of said lens-holder relative to said circular collars.

6. The lighting device of claim 5 and further comprisw 7. The lighting device of claim 5 .wherein said lens: holder comprises a collar having a protective grille disposed in front of a lens.-

*8. The lighting device of claim 7 wherein said grille comprises a circular sleeve supported centrallyofv said i lens-holder and in irontof said lens by radialvanes;

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2, 1 l 3 ,2'1 1 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

EVON C. BLUNK, ,C. C. LOGAN, Assistant Examiners.

4/1938 Lake 285 -373" 

1. IN A LIGHTING DEVICE THE IMPROVEMNET COMPRISING: A TWO-PART LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT SLEEVE, EACH OF SAID PARTS HAVING AN INTEGRALLY FORMED CIRCULAR LAMP HOUSING AT ONE END, THE OTHER END OF SAID SPLIT SLEEVE DEFINING A CONTINUOUS HELICAL THREAD WHEN THE TWO PARTS THEREOF ARE PLACED IN MATED RELATIONSHIP; A SLEEVE MEMBER FOR RECEIVING SAID SPLIT SLEEVE THEREIN; AND A THREADED CAP MATABLE WITH THE THREADED ENDS OF SAID SPLIT SLEEVE. 